Another fabulous day in China getting to know our new daughter, Eden! On tap today was a medical exam required by the government as we near the time of our Consulate appointment. Eden has gotten pretty happy-go-lucky in the last two days, but just like any child who goes to the doctor's office, she was none too happy when the actual poking and prodding arrived. The whole thing took like 30 minutes.
Thanks to Nana (grandma), Eden was also sporting a fashionable and inexpensive stroller today. Our specialists recommend holding Eden as much as possible to begin the process of getting good eye contact. Well, we've had that from Day One, and since Eden is having no problems connecting with us, we opted to give her a nice place to sit with wheels and give mommy and daddy's arms a much-needed break.
We did some shopping--actually a little too much time-wise. Right after lunch Eden had a complete meltdown. We're talking a raging, heart-pounding, screeching, wailing, gnashing of teeth, hold-nothing-back tantrum and grief session right in the middle of the street in downtown Guangzhou.
These times are really a tough balance for mom and dad, because the idea is to let her grieve even though some of this is not grief but just a 19-month old being a 19-month old. Also, we want Eden to find her comfort in Keri first to help establish the mother-daughter bond as quickly as possible. Eden's reaction during the tantrum was interesting--she held out her arms for me or Nana, but not for Keri. So, the fact that we would not let anyone but Keri comfort her made the tantrum last a lot longer. It breaks our hearts, but it's building hers.
The afternoon was bountiful with paperwork. Nobody will be able to say of our child that she is not well documented. If at age 25 she wants to apply to be a construction crane operator for Moru-speaking people in Sudan on nights and weekends, we've probably already filled out a form for that. This evening the whole lot of us (7 families in all) had dinner at a Thai restaurant nearby.
Probably the most fun of the evening was after dinner when we headed back to the hotel and took Eden to the playroom downstairs. She had fun playing with balls, getting tickled and running around in her squeaky-shoes. (The squeaky-shoes are like a staple in China--everybody has them and all the little kids go squeak-squeak-squeak when they walk. It's quite entertaining for them and for us.)
Finally, bath time--another meltdown, but not quite as bad as a few nights ago. I think Eden is getting her sea-legs under her and learning, slowly, to trust us. Honestly, we're pooped and she's pooped, and it's just about bedtime. Both Keri and I agree that overall today was not a great day for Eden, but they'll be good ones and better ones, and that's just fine by us.
Tomorrow is a shopping day. One of the other dads figured out today why we have to stay for 2 1/2 weeks in China--apparently we have to spend a minimum amount on souvenirs before they let us come home. If only we had known! Seriously, every establishment in every city in China ends with a gift shop at the exit. Walking out of the medical exam this morning I half expected to see a display of silks, jade jewelry and porcelain tea serving sets.
This morning we saw the White Swan Hotel in all it's glory. When you see the scale of foreign adoptions as we did today, the abandonment of children in this country really comes into focus as a critical problem. I'm praying opportunities will continue to open up for the Chinese as well as other nations to help stem the growing surge of orphan children. This is a worldwide issue, not just here in Asia.
It appeared today that this entire 28-story skyscraper was built with the singular focus of processing adoptive parents and their adorable Chinese children. They are EVERYWHERE. I kept asking people with children where they were from. Indiana. Idaho. Ohio. California. New York. Georgia. Alabama. Tennessee. Texas. Kansas. Washington. Nevada. Breakfast this morning looked like the Romper Room convention. The tables in the restaurant were already set up with high chairs. Party of three and baby? Right this way... There was a whole baby food section at the buffet.
Guangzhou, Keri said, is like the Las Vegas of China. There are lots of neon lights. There's even laser beams coming from the bridge over the river at night. It's definitely the nicest of the places we've been so far. The neighborhood around the hotel is very walkable and has lots of interesting shops and restaurants. The people are very friendly and open. And most of them will be happy to give you a "special discount" on jade jewelry. Tomorrow we also get to see some friends from the U.S. who are now living in China and we're really excited about that.
Four days to go until we're home!
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